Debate goes on

It takes about 25 percent more blended fuel toproduce the same amount of energy. Lastly,with a good portion of the world starving, tak-ing a staple like corn out of the food chain tomake fuel is irresponsible. The only winnershere are the Midwest farmers andtheir legislators and lobbyists.Roger TroutClearwater Beach, Florida

YES. Anything to move away
from nuclear energy. We need to
learn from Japan.

e

Subscribe to TheCostco ConnectionOnline Edition. Justgo to Costco.com andsearch “subscription.”In response to the July Debate,“Are biofuels a good idea?”

YES. In the debate comparing the cost of
imported oil to that of domestically produced biofuel, one factor is never mentioned and that is the necessity of dispatching
our military to far-distant lands to protect
our sources of oil. The cost in dollars and
American lives is enormous and is never
figured into the price of gasoline at the
pump. How many barrels of oil is the life of
an American soldier worth?

G. NelsonSan Francisco, California

NO. I do not believe it is a good idea to use
biofuels, especially corn, to make gasoline. It
takes 25 percent more petroleum products to
make a gallon of ethanol blend and the automobile gets much poorer gas mileage as well.

NO. When we think about the
quantity of an essential food grain
being diverted to run vehicles instead of to
hungry world citizens who cannot afford ever-escalating corn prices, we need to say no.

Karla HolmlundSt. Paul, Minnesota

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Member comments

Annuity fan

In Suze Orman’s July 2011 column,
Shyam S. asked about the advisability of considering a variable annuity to generate a 6. 5
percent lifetime return. Ms. Orman said to
never consider a variable annuity, not because
they are good or bad, but because the adviser
gets a hefty commission.

When a Costco member buys a house, the
real estate agent gets a hefty commission.
When the member buys a car, the salesman
gets a hefty commission. This doesn’t mean
that you shouldn’t buy a house or a car.